LIBERTY — When Mental Health Accessibility for Mississippi coordinator Bill Rosamond told Amite County supervisors on Friday that they had 30 days to come up with a plan to provide adequate services to the community, the board was taken by surprise.
“What we are charged with doing is when we find mental health services in an area inadequate, we’re charged with informing the board of supervisors of that and asking the board for a plan to provide adequate mental health services in the area,” he said.
Board attorney Reggie Jones said his request provides too little time for such a job.
“I don’t think 30 days is realistic to try in a rural county to come up with a plan,” he said. “Sixty to 90 days might be more realistic.”
Rosamond, whose job was created through legislation in 2020 in response to a federal lawsuit regarding Mississippi’s mental health services, said Amite County has little to offer for people in crisis.
“This region is in very poor shape and we’re trying to move at as quick a pace as we can to find a solution to it, but yes, sir, we are willing to work with you on time,” he said in response to Jones’ appeal for more time.
Rosamond said Amite, Adams, Claiborne, Frank-lin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Pike, Walthall and Wilkinson make financial contributions to the Region 11 Community Mental Health Centers, which includes the Southwest Mississippi Mental Health Office on Main Street in Liberty.
He said one of every 400 residents in Region 11 were involuntarily committed to a mental hospital in the past year.
Rosamond said Amite County’s average was lower than the region, as just one out of every 470 residents was committed on average. But the state average is one out of every 630 people.
Rosamond said the nine counties in the region contributed $308,174 to its community mental health centers in the past year.
Rosamond said Amite County contributed $37,560 of that and has a population of 12,237.
Jones said Amite County contributed $3.09 per resident, which is the highest of all nine counties. He noted Pike County contributes $2.29 per resident and Walthall County contributed $1.24 per resident. He added if every county contributed $3.09 per resident, the Region 11 Community Mental Health Centers would have an extra $123,000.
“Every one of them is less than Amite County,” he said.
Rosamond and Steven Allen, former Deputy Director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, acknowledged that’s true.
“You are to be commended for paying that, but the problem is you’re not getting a lot for your money,” Allen said.
Allen said he called the mental health services office in Liberty after visiting and the phone was not answered.
“We went to the office here in Liberty and tried to talk to some people,” Rosamond said. “When we went up to the building, the door was locked. When we went up to the door, there was a young lady that came to the door.”
Rosamond said he talked with the administrative assistant, who is at the mental health office alone Tuesday through Friday. He said a therapist was only there Mondays.
Sherlene Vince, executive director of Southwest Mississippi Mental Health/Region 11, talked about some of the issues.
Darwin Huff, a commissioner who represented Amite County on the Southwest Mississippi Mental Health/Region 11 board, resigned last year. Supervisors said they would appoint a new commissioner in the near future.
“We have had struggles for many years,” Vince said. “We have had board meetings and invited all county boards to come or a representative from those so we could address some of those issues.”
Vince said the COVID pandemic cut services in half, but she has applied for some grants.
“We’re a small organization and it takes time and resources to get things renovated and all of those things,” she said.
Vince said Southwest Mississippi Mental Health/Region 11 recently lost its adult therapist assigned to Amite County and she is looking for a replacement.
